Hot-gas reciprocating engine with means for augmenting the pressure medium and supplying combustion air



Jan. 5, 1954 A N. J. VAN DE POLL ET AL 2,664,698

HOT-GAS RECIPROCATING ENGINE WITH MEANS FOR AUGMEZNTING THE PRESSURE MEDIUM AND SUPPLYING COMBUSTION AIR Filed Aug. 30, 1950 3 Fl G. {5 45 i 14 I! f; i 7' 5 If 8 m f8 if i ii a . m 4 i3. 3p 5 5 f ,5 J 25 INVENTORS 2274i Q K7 Patented Jan. 5, 1954 UNITED STATES HOT-GAS RECIPROCATING ENGINE WITH MEANS FOR AUGMENTING THE PRESSURE MEDIUM AND SUPPLYING COMBUSTION AIR Abraham Nicolaas Jan van de Poll, Gomarus Maria Adrianus Cornelis Geeven, Gijsbertus Eernst, and Jacob Gerrit Slui, Dordrecht, Netherlands, assignors to Hartford National Bank and Trust Company, Hartford, Conn., as trustee Application August 30, 195,0,Seria1N o. 182,334

Claims priority, application Netherlands September 8, 1949 Claims. (01. s0-24) This invention relates generally to hot-gas reciprocating engines and more particularly to hot-gas engines which include a device for the supply of a gaseous medium under pressure to the working space thereof. provide hot-gas reciprocating engines with such a device, which may, for example, be a compressor or-an auxiliary pressure vessel.

As is known, leakage of the working medium from the working space may sometimes occur in hot-gas reciprocating engines, due to which the power of the engine drops. If it is desired to restore this power, working medium must be supplied to the working space of the engine. Similarly, the power of an engine may be increased by supplying an additional quantity of working medium to the working space. In the hitherto known constructions useis made to this end of the gas supplied by a compressor or an auxiliary pressure vessel as indicated hereinbefore.

In other known, constructions, a compressor or a fansupplies air which serves as combustion air for the burners of the hot-gas, reciprocating engine. Consequently, two devices for the supply of gaseous medium are usually found in the engines; namely, a fan for the supply ofcombustion air and. a compressor for supplementing the working medium.

In order to avoid this complication engendered by two separate gaseous medium supply means, the hot-gas reciprocating engine according to the invention is characterized in that only part of the gaseous medium supplied by the device for supplying gaseous medium under pressure,

is used as supplemental medium in the engine.-

Another part of this gaseous medium is used for the supply of combustion air to one or more burners of the engine.

The gaseous medium used for supplementing the working medium is required to have a comparatively high pressure. It naturally follows, therefore, that the compressor must supply a medium having a comparatively high pressure. Part of the medium supplied by the compressor may then be used for the supply of combustion air to the burners. 'To this end use may, for instance, be made of an injector through which combustion air is drawn in. Obviously the gaseous medium under pressure may be of different composition than that injected as combustion air. It may, for instance, be nitrogengas 0 hydrogen gas instead of air.

Furthermore, hot-gas reciprocating engines generally comprise one or more fuel pumps by which liquid fuel is pumped to the burners. These fuelpumps can now be omitted 1f, as-in It is customary to a further embodiment of the invention, the gaseous medium used for the supply of combustion air is at the same time used for conveying liquid fuel to one or more burners of the engine.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the gaseous medium used for supplying combustion air moreover sucks in liquid fuel by means of a jet pump, for example an injector. This embodiment provides an intimate mixture of combustion air and fuel.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the quantity of gaseous medium used for drawing in combustion air may be controlled by the use of a control device operated by a thermostat. The arrangement is such that an increase in temperature of the hot space results in a reduced supply of gaseous medium, whereas a decrease in temperature results in an increased supply of this medium.

In order that the invention may be more "clearly understood and readily carried into effect,

it will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawing, given by way of example, in which:

Figure, 1 shows diagrammatically one form of a hot-gas reciprocating engine according to the invention.

Figure 2 shows an enlarged view of one of the injectors in section.

This hot-gas reciprocating engine comprises two cylinders i and 3 arranged at an angle of with espect to one another. The cylinder I has a piston 2, and the cylinder 3 has a piston t, which define the extremities of the working space in which the working medium is contained. The pistons 2 and 4 are secured through connecting rods i8 and i9, respectively, to a common crank 20 of the crank shaft H. To a crank 22 of this crank shaft 2! is furthermore secured the connecting rod 23 of a piston 5 reciprocatingin a compressor 6. Each of connecting rods i8, i9 and 23 and each of cranks 2t and El, being conventional per se, are shown diagrammatically.

The space above the piston 2 is the hot space 24 of the hot-gas reciprocating engine and communicates by way of passage 1' in a heater via a regenerator 8 and through the tubes 9 of a cooler 9, with the space 25 before the operative surface of the piston 4. This space 25 is the "cool'edspace of the hot-gas reciprocating engine.

By means of a burner Ill, thermal energy is supplied to the passages l" in the heater 1, the passages and 1" being in heat exchange relation ship. On the other hand, heat is taken from the ..tubes; 9.;by circulating a cooling medium, such i 3 as water, for example, through the'coolerB. The compressor 6 supplies compressed air which is used for supplementing the working medium in the engine and' at the same time for the supply of combustion air and liquid fuel. a conduit II connected into the pressure cham-. ber of the compressor 6 has two branches i la and Mb. The air carried off through the conduit llb is preferably introduced into the cold space of the hot-gas reciprocating engine, as shown in the drawing, to serve as supplemental air.

periodically exceeds the pressure in the conduit l lb.

The conduit Ha is connected to the burner Ill. The air supplied by the compressor first traverses an injector I3 by means of which liquid fuel from a vessel 54 is drawn in. The fuel air mixture subsequently passes through an injector l5 by which secondary combustion air is drawn in. This quantity of air may be increased or reduced in a simple manner, such as altering the relative position between the edge of the nozzle I5 and the surface of the Venturi flare l5", so that the control of the burner IE) is very simple. For example, the Venturi section 3% may be adjusted by means of a screw thread 32.

In order that the quantity of thermal energy supplied to the engine may be kept constant, a valved control device it is provided which is adapted to be controlled by means of a thermostatic system H. The latter has the thermosensitive element ll thereof subjected to the temperature of the hot space 24 or of the heater 1 as shown. The valved control device I6 is such that an increase in temperature of the hot space 24 or heater 1 results in a smaller quantity of medium being supplied, whereas a decreasein temperature results in a larger quantity of medium supplied.

Sometimes, the pressure of the supplemental medium is too high for use in an injector. Therefore, it will sometimes be desirable to provide a reducing valve lie in the conduit Ila in front of the injector I3.

What we claim is:

1. A hot-gas reciprocating engine comprising means defining a working space, piston means in said working space, a crankshaft, means connecting said piston means to said crankshaft, a device for supplying gaseous medium under pressure, first conduit means for directing a part of the gaseous medium supplied by said device to said working space, a burner operatively associated with said Working space for supplying heat to a portion thereof, second conduit means for directing a part of the gaseous medium supplied by said device to said burner, and means drivingly connecting said crankshaft to said device.

2. A hot-gas reciprocating engine comprising means defining a working space, a device for supplying gaseous medium under pressure, first conduit means for directing apart of the gaseous medium supplied by said device to said working space, a burner operatively associated With said Working space for supplying heat to a portion thereof, second conduit means for directing a part of the gaseous medium supplied by. said device to said burner, liquid fuel supply means connected into said second conduit means, and injector means in said second conduit means located between said burner and said liquid fuel supply means connection, and means adjustably To this end,

This conduit Hb comprises a check valve I2 to, prevent working medium from being forced fromthe engine working space if the pressure therein communicating said injector means with the atmosphere.

3.- A hotgas engine comprising a closed system containing gas of invariable chemical composition' as the. working medium and having first means enclosing a hot space, second means enclosing a cold space, third means connecting said hot space and said cold space, said third means having a heater, a regenerator and a cooler therein, a plurality of pistons for varying the volumes of said spaces, rod and shaft means interconnecting said pistons and reciprocating them at a constant phase difference, a device for supplying gaseous medium under pressure, first conduit means connecting said device to said cold space to'direct a part of the gaseous medium supplied underpressure to said closed system in order to regulate the power output of the engine, a heater around said hot space for supplying heat to a portion thereof, a burner for said heater, second conduit means connecting said device to said burner to direct a part of the gaseous medium supplied by said device to said burner, and means in said secondconduit means for varying the quantity of gaseous medium supplied by said device to said burner.

4. A hot-gas engine comprising a closed system containing gas of invariable chemical composition as the working medium and having first means enclosing a hot space, second means enclosing a cold space, third means connecting said hot space and said cold space, said third means having a heater, a regenerator and a cooler therein, a plurality of pistons for varying the volumes of said spaces, rod and shaft means interconnecting said pistons and reciprocating them at a constant phase. difference, a device for supplying gaseous medium under pressure, first conduit means connecting said device, to said cold space to direct a part of the gaseous medium supplied under pressure to said closed system in order to regulate. the power output of the engine, a heater around said hotspace for supplying heat to a portion thereof, a burner for said heater, second conduit means connecting said device to said burner to direct a part of the gaseous medium sup lied by said device to said burner, fuel injector means connected into said second conduit and air injector means in said second conduit whereby the high pressure medium from the compressor acts to draw air into said second conduit.

5. A hot-gas engine comprising a closed system containing gas of invariable chemical composi tion as the working medium and having first means enclosing a hot space, second means enclosing-a cold space, third means connecting said hot space and said cold space, said third means having a heater, a regenerator and a cooler therein, a plurality of pistons for varying the volumes of said spaces, rod and shaft means interconnecting said pistons and reciprocating them at a constant phase difference, a device for supplying gaseous medium under pressure, first conduit means connecting said device to said cold space to direct a part of the gaseous medium supplied under pressure to said closed system in order to regulate the power output of the engine, a heater around said hot space for supplying heat to a portion thereof, a burner for said heater, second conduit means connecting said device to said burner to direct a part of the gaseous medium supplied by said device to said burner, valve means in said second conduit, and thermostatic means responsive to the temperature in said 5 6 heated portion of said working space for control- Number Name Date ling said valve means. 334,153 Babcock Jan. 12, 1886 ABRAHAM NICOLAAS JAN 1,169,308 Vuia Jan. 25, 1916 VAN DE POLL, 2,067,453 Lee Jan. 12, 1937 GOMARUS MARIA ADRIANUS 5 2,434,726 Udale Jan. 20, 1948 CORNELIS GEEVEN, 2,588,530 lfield Mar. 11, 1952 GIJSBERTUS EERNST, JACOB GERRIT SLUI. FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date References Cited in the file of this patent 10 196,620 G eat ritain Oct. 2 1 24 UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 155,087 Hirsch Sept. 15, 1874 270,036 Eimecke Jan. 2, 1883 

